Hendrix, Jimi - Jimi Plays Berkeley DVD
SKU
28-SNYL199255DVD
This was one of the very first films released of a Jimi Hendrix concert, recorded at two shows from May 30, 1970 and it's been restored and expanded with more than 15 minutes. Still, it suffers from the technical limitations of the equipment of that time and also from the way people thought about presenting rock music at that time. Having said that, this is one of the finer shows of late period Jimi, doing songs from his upcoming "New Rising Sun" album, which, of course, he never lived to quite finish.
"This DVD is a great demonstration of the hard, cold fact that Jimi Hendrix is the greatest guitar player of all time. He truly amazes. Hendrix's control of his instrument, the power he wields when he plays his guitar, is inspiring. Many people who play their guitars let the guitar play them, but Jimi Hendrix plays his guitar. Whenever I watch this concert, I fall into a trance watching him play. Mitch Mitchell is an amazing drummer an I don't think he's appreciated enough- he really gives power to the songs, especially Machine Gun. Voodoo Child (Slight Return) is amazing. Hendrix does an excellent rendition of Machine Gun. Hey Baby (New Rising Sun) sounds beautiful. Hendrix alone makes this DVD worth buying.
That said, the camera work is horrible. For some reason the camera kept focusing on the lights. At random points in the DVD, the scene will cut to rioters at Berkeley- while somewhat interesting, these scenes bear no relation that I can see to the concert. I'm sure people would rather watch Hendrix play. Also, some songs got cut off in the middle. The DVD should have just played the concert straight through to the end, including everything.
All in all, I highly recommend this DVD. The technical work is terrible, but Hendrix more than makes up for that."-Barbara Ehlers
- Format TypeNTSC
- Region CodingAll Region
- LabelSony
- UPC0886919933192